Device for dispensing paper or like material



Sept. 30, 1969 K. J. HENDERSON ETAL Filed Oct. 27, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r I v o :I N

W S X'PMTMJ F// 7 WWI/wow p 1969 K. J. HENDERSON ETAL 3,469,797

DEVICE FOR DISPENSING PAPER 0R LIKE MATERIAL Filed Oct. 27, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent U.S. Cl. 242-54 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for dispensing paper or like material from a roll of such material, which includes roller means mounted for rotation inside a loose roll of material, and for rotating the roll when it is tightened onto the roller means as a result of a pull on the material, the roller means tending subsequently to loosen the tightened roll, and means for applying a frictional drag to the inner end of the material thereby tending to re-tighten the roll onto the roller as a result of the pull on the material.

This invention relates to device-s for dispensing paper or like materail from a roll of such material, and is concerned, more particularly, with such devices for use in situations where when the material is required it must be dispensed suddenly and at high speed.

One particular application where such a dispensing device is required is in ultra violet recording devices in which a number of separate traces are recorded upon paper whch is sensitive to ultraviolet light, but relatively insensitive to daylight thereby elminating the need for a subsequent developing process after recording. Each trace is produced by a separate galvanometer having a mirror to reflect light from an ultra-violet source on to the sensitized paper.

If the sensitized paper is passed through the recording device at a sufficiently high speed it is possible to resolve on each trace each cycle of movement of the galvanometer, but as the frequency response of the galvanometer is increased due to advances in galvanometer design it becomes necessary to pass the sensitized paper through the device at higher and higher speeds to achieve resolution of each cycle if advantage is to be taken of the improvement in frequency response.

Modern galvanometers may have a frequency response of up to kc./s. so that if each cycle of the trace is to occupy which is considered adequate for subsequent visual examination of the trace, then it is necessary to move the paper at a speed of 1,000 inches per second.

Whilst no difiiculty is experienced in driving the sensitized paper at this speed with the aid of a pair of spring loaded pinch rollers, extreme difliculty is encountered in supplying paper with no inertial effects to the pinch rollers in order to prevent breaking of the web of paper under the pull of the pinch rollers. A cassette containing a loosely wound roll of paper has been found to be unsatisfactory for the purpose due to jamming of the paper in the exit from the cassette. A hopper containing the paper arranged in sinuous fashion can be designed to work satisfactorily, but such a hopper must occupy an unnecessarily large space, and there is also a tendency for the paper to mark due to the stresses applied to it upon withdrawal from the hopper.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved dispensing device in which the above difiiculties are effectively overcome.

The present invention consists in a device for dispensing paper or like material from a roll of such material, which includes roller means mounted for rotation inside a loose roll of material, and for rotating the roll when it is tightened on to the roller means as a result of a pull on the material, the roller tending subsequently to loosen the tightened roll, and means for applying a frictional drag to the inner end of the material whereby tending to re-tighten the roll onto the roller as a result of the pull on the material.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view which shows diagrammatically a device for dispensing paper according to the present invention, and

FIGURE 2 is a section through the device of FIGURE 1 showing diagrammatically a roll of paper thereon.

In carrying the invention into effect according to one convenient mode by way of example, the drawings show diagrammatically a device for dispensing a web of paper from a roll to a pair of spring loaded pinch rollers R1 and R2, provided in recording apparatus RA, the left hand side of FIGURE 1 being shown in axial section.

The device includes a central roller 1 fixed on a driven shaft 2 mounted for rotation on a framework 3. Freely mounted on the shaft 2 are two sleeves 4 having flanges 5 and the two sleeves are coupled for rotation in uni-son by means of gear wheels 6 mounted on a common shaft 7 and engaging gear teeth provided on the periphery of each flange 5. Rotation of the sleeves relative to the framework 3 can be prevented by means of a removable pin 8 passing through apertures in the framework and one sleeve.

Each sleeve 4 carries a spring clip 9 and a collar 10-, composed for example, of polyurethane foam, which is slightly proud of the surface of the roller 1.

In operation, with the roller 1 stationary, the pin 8 is withdrawn and a length of paper, say 15 feet, is applied to the device by inserting one end of the paper into the clips 9 and rotating the sleeves 4 until the paper P is in the form of a loosely wound roll. The pin 8 is then inserted and the shaft 2 driven until the surface of the roller 1 attains a speed approximately equal to the speed at which the paper is to be dispensed. Since the roll of paper is not tightly wound upon the roller 1 it will not at this stage be affected by rotation of the roller 1.

When the device has been prepared in this way, it is possible, using a pair of pinch rollers or other driving means, to snatch from the device the paper at the speed determined by the surface speed of roller 1, say up to 1,000 inches per second, only a relatively short period of time being needed to allow the driving means to accelerate the paper to the final speed, for example, during 18" of travel of the paper web.

It will be appreciated that when, for example, the paper is 15 feet long, and a speed of 1,000 r.p.s. is being used, the paper will be exhausted in an extremely short period of time, say 0.20 second, but this has been found to be adequate for example when used with a UV. recorder, to produce traces which are suitable for subsequent analysis.

It will be appreciated that it is difficult to describe with any certainty the precise manner in which the roll of paper 1s unwound from the device, but it is thought that the process takes place as follows.

As the paper is pulled initially, the loose roll of paper is tightened down onto the roller 1, thereby accelerating the paper roll to approximately the desired speed, the inner end of the paper being pulled out of the clips 9 which remain stationary. However, the effect of the roller 1 rotating inside and with the tightened roll of paper is to tend to loosen the roll of paper thereby freeing it from the roller, so that subsequent delivery of paper takes place with the following two effects occurring rapidly and alternately.

When the roll is tightened onto the rollers as has been said it will be loosened under the effect of the roller, and when it has been loosened the collars 10 will apply a frictional drag to the inner end of the paper causing the roll to be re-tightened.

In this way, the paper is delivered from the device at approximately the desired speed, thereby enabling the pinch rollers or other drive means to accelerate the paper to the desired speed in a very short period of time, and thereafter to drive the paper at the desired speed without danger of breakage or marking.

We claim:

1. A device for dispensing paper or like material from a roll of such material, which includes (a) a driven shaft mounted for rotation,

(b) roller means provided upon said shaft for rota tion therewith, said roller means being adapted to support a loose roll of material,

(c) means for rapidly pulling the outer end of the roll and thereby tightening the roll onto the roller means, consequent rotation of the roll with the roller means tending to loosen the tightened roll, and

(d) means for applying a frictional drag to the inner end of the roll thereby tending to re-tighten the roll onto the roller.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for applying a frictional drag includes at least one normally non-rotatable sleeve mounted inside the roll.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the means for applying a frictional drag includes two normally nonrotatable sleeves mounted inside the roll one at each end of the roller means.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein means are provided for temporarily permitting rotation of the sleeves in unison to facilitate loading of a roll of material onto the roller means.

5. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the or each sleeve includes a collar of frictional material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,707,595 5/1955 Brown 24255.2 2,944,749 7/ 1960 Maier 242-552 3,127,121 3/1964 Babin 24255.53

FOREIGN PATENTS 533,299 11/1956 Canada.

25 LEONARD D. CHRISTIAN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

